Truffles Interviews...Sexy Beast from Pamela Burford's Undertaking Irene

Hey everybody, it's Truffles! Today I'm interviewing Sexy Beast, the poodle star of Undertaking Irene, the first Jane Delaney Mystery by Pamela Burford. I hope you enjoy it!

Welcome, Sexy Beast! Thank you so much for taking the time for a short interview. Could you start by telling us a little about yourself and how you came to live with Jane?

Thanks for having me, Truffles! I must warn you, I don’t often sit down for a civilized chat with a cat, so if I forget myself and start barking like crazy, just hiss and give me a good swat on the snout and I’ll back off with a whimper. Yeah, I’m not exactly the most alpha dog in the pack. What can I tell you?

I used to live with Irene, but something happened to her and now I’m part of Jane’s pack. She’s helped take care of me since I was a puppy, though, so it’s all good.

You absolutely have to tell us why you are named Sexy Beast!!!

Well, gee, I thought it was obvious heh heh. But seriously, Irene adored movies—she even had a home theater in her big house—and she named all her poodles after films. Before me there was Annie Hall, Dr. Strangelove, and Jaws.

What is a typical day like for you?

Well, when I’m not solving mysteries for Jane, I’m napping, picking through my kibble for the red ones, napping, begging for Vienna sausages, playing with one of my many stuffed toys, napping, licking myself, and napping.

Mommy loves Poodles...what's so special about your breed?

Most humans think poodles are fluffy airheads. That is such an insulting stereotype! I’ll have you know poodles are water retrievers. We have a long and distinguished history helping humans hunt. That’s how that silly haircut got started, the pompoms and all that? Hunters used to trim our coats to keep us from getting snagged by burrs, but they kept us fluffy at the joints for warmth. There. Glad you asked? Of course, I refuse to go outside when it’s raining, but that’s a different story.

Do you like kitties?

Ahem. Well, of course I do! Your breed is noble, self-reliant, um…noble…BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK! [WHACK!] Whoa, thanks, Truffles. Don’t know what got into me [head down, tail between legs].

What is Jane's Death Diva business all about?

To quote Jane: “I do things my paying customers can’t do, don’t want to do, don’t want to be seen doing, can’t bring themselves to do, and/or don’t want it to be known they’d paid someone to do. To dead people.” Like people hire her to scatter ashes, place flowers on graves, steal jewelry from corpses. Oops, did I say that out loud? Forget about that, it’s not important.

What kinds of trouble do you get into in Undertaking Irene?

Trouble? Moi? Why, butter wouldn’t melt in my…All right, if you must know, I’m not always the most cooperative of canine companions. Jane uses the word “neurotic.” I prefer “sensitive.” There was that time in Undertaking Irene that I took off after a rat at what might be called the worst possible moment and the worst possible place. Hey, I’m a hunter, like I said! [pause to lick nether regions] So Jane and her friend Martin (I like Martin. Talk about an alpha male!) get all worked up and go running after me—and right into some very serious trouble. But didn’t I help save the day?

Do you have any idea what your upcoming adventures are going to be?

Well, Jane is the Death Diva, so I have to help rescue her from all sorts of sticky situations. Her next adventure is going to be called Uprooting Ernie, and I have it on good authority that Jane just might come upon something shocking in the town cemetery. But that’s all I’m authorized to tell you [curls up and starts snoring].

Synopsis: Jane Delaney does things her paying customers can’t do, don’t want to do, don’t want to be seen doing, can’t bring themselves to do, and/or don’t want it to be known they’d paid someone to do. To dead people. Life gets complicated for Jane and her Death Diva business when she’s hired to liberate a gaudy mermaid brooch from the corpse during a wake. Well, a girl’s got to make a living, and this assignment pays better than scattering ashes, placing flowers on graves, or bawling her eyes out as a hired mourner. Unfortunately for Jane, someone else is just as eager to get his hands on that brooch, and he’s even sneakier than she is. Just when she thinks her biggest problem is grand theft mermaid, things take a murderous turn. But hey, when you’ve teamed up with a neurotic seven-pound poodle named Sexy Beast, how can you lose?

About the Author: Pamela Burford is the best-selling author of 15 works of mystery, contemporary romance, and romantic suspense. She has received four RITA and Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award nominations and is a frequent speaker at writers’ conferences and workshops. Her books have sold millions of copies, received outstanding reviews, and been translated into more than a dozen languages. Pamela is the founder and past president of Long Island Romance Writers, a chapter of Romance Writers of America. Fun fact: her twin sister Patricia Ryan, a.k.a. P.B. Ryan, is also a published novelist

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